11 habits that will help you live to 100

8/3/2019 11 Habits That Will Help You Live to 100

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11 Habits That Will Help You Live to 100

Healthy Steps to a Longer Life

One of the biggest factors that determines how well you age is not your genes but how well you live. Not convinced?A study published in 2009 in the British Medical Journal of 20,000 British folks shows that you can cut your risk ofhaving a stroke in half by doing the following things: being active for 30 minutes a day, eating five daily servings offruit and vegetables, and avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol.

While those are some of the obvious steps you can take to age well, researchers have discovered that centenarianstend to share certain traits in how they eat, move about, and deal with stressthe sorts of things we can emulate toimprove our own aging process. Of course, getting to age 100 is enormously more likely if your parents did. Still,Thomas Perls, who studies the century-plus set at Boston University School of Medicine, believes that assumingyou've sidestepped genes for truly fatal diseases like Huntington's, "there's nothing stopping you from living

independently well into your 90s." Heck, if your parents and grandparents were heavy smokers, they might have diedprematurely without ever reaching their true potential lifespan, so go ahead and shoot for those triple digits. Followthese 12 habits and check out Perls' lifetime risk calculatorto see how long you can expect to live.

1. Don't Retire


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"Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the incidence of obesity and chronic disease

skyrockets after retirement," says Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The Chiantiregion of Italy, which has a high percentage of centenarians, has a different take on leisure time. "After people retirefrom their jobs, they spend most of the day working on their little farm, cultivating grapes or vegetables," he says."They're never really inactive." Farming isn't for you? Volunteer as a docent at your local art museum or join theExperience Corps, a program offered in 19 cities that places senior volunteers in urban public elementary schools forabout 15 hours a week.

2. Floss Every Day

That may help keep your arteries healthy. A 2008 New York University study showed that daily flossing reduced theamount of gum-disease-causing bacteria in the mouth. This bacteria is thought to enter the bloodstream and triggerinflammation in the arteries, a major risk factor for heart disease. Other research has shown that those who have highamounts of bacteria in their mouth are more likely to have thickening in their arteries, another sign of heart disease. "Ireally do think people should floss twice a day to get the biggest life expectancy benefits," says Perls.


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3. Move Around

"Exercise is the only real fountain of youth that exists," says Jay Olshansky, a professor of medicine and agingresearcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "It's like the oil and lube job for your car. You don't have to do it, butyour car will definitely run better." Study after study has documented the benefits of exercise to improve your mood,mental acuity, balance, muscle mass, and bones. "And the benefits kick in immediately after your first workout,"Olshansky adds. Don't worry if you're not a gym rat. Those who see the biggest payoffs are the ones who go fromdoing nothing to simply walking around the neighborhood or local mall for about 30 minutes a day. Building musclewith resistance training is also ideal, but yoga classes can give you similar strength-training effects if you're not intoweight lifting.

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4. Eat a Fiber-Rich Cereal for Breakfast


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Getting a serving of whole-grains, especially in the morning, appears to help older folks maintain stable blood sugarlevels throughout the day, according to a recent study conducted by Ferrucci and his colleagues. "Those who do thishave a lower incidence of diabetes, a known accelerator of aging," he says.

5.G

et at Least Six Hours of Sleep Each Night

Instead of skimping on sleep to add more hours to your day, get more to add years to your life. "Sleep is one of themost important functions that our body uses to regulate and heal cells," says Ferrucci. "We've calculated that theminimum amount of sleep that older people need to get those healing REM phases is about six hours." Those whoreach the century mark make sleep a top priority.

5 Foods That Help You Sleep Better

6. Consume Whole Foods, Not Supplements

Strong evidence suggests that people who have high blood levels of certain nutrientsselenium, beta-carotene,vitamins C and Eage much better and have a slower rate of cognitive decline. Unfortunately, there's no evidence


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that taking pills with these nutrients provides those anti-aging benefits. "There are more than 200 differentcarotenoids and 200 different flavonoids in a single tomato," points out Ferrucci, "and these chemicals can all havecomplex interactions that foster health beyond the single nutrients we know about like lycopene or vitamin C." Avoidnutrient-lacking white foods (breads, flour, sugar) and go for all those colorful fruits and vegetables and dark whole-grain breads and cereals with their host of hidden nutrients

7. Be Less Neurotic

It may work for Woody Allen, who infuses his worries with a healthy dose of humor, but the rest of us neurotics maywant to find a new way to deal with stress. "We have a new study coming out that shows that centenarians tend notto internalize things or dwell on their troubles," says Perls. "They are great at rolling with the punches." If this inborntrait is hard to overcome, find better ways to manage when you're stressed: Yoga, exercise, meditation, tai chi, or justdeep breathing for a few moments are all good. Ruminating, eating chips in front of the TV, binge drinking? Bad, verybad.

How Your Personality Affects Your Health

8. Live Like a Seventh Day Adventist


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Americans who define themselves as Seventh Day Adventists have an average life expectancy of 89, about a decadelonger than the average American. One of the basic tenets of the religion is that it's important to cherish the bodythat's on loan from God, which means no smoking, alcohol abuse, or overindulging in sweets. Followers typically stickto a vegetarian diet based on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts, and get plenty of exercise. They're also veryfocused on family and community.

9. Be a Creature of Habit

Centenarians tend to live by strict routines, says Olshansky, eating the same kind of diet and doing the same kinds ofactivities their whole lives. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day is another good habit to keep yourbody in the steady equilibrium that can be easily disrupted as you get on in years. "Your physiology becomes frailerwhen you get older," explains Ferrucci, "and it's harder for your body to bounce back if you, say, miss a few hours ofsleep one night or drink too much alcohol." This can weaken immune defenses, leaving you more susceptible tocirculating flu viruses or bacterial infections.


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10. Stay Connected

Having regular social contacts with friends and loved ones is key to avoiding depression, which can lead to prematuredeath, something that's particularly prevalent in elderly widows and widowers. Some psychologists even think thatone of the biggest benefits elderly folks get from exercise the strong social interactions that come from walking with abuddy or taking a group exercise class. Having a daily connection with a close friend or family member gives olderfolks the added benefit of having someone watch their back. "They'll tell you if they think your memory is going or ifyou seem more withdrawn," says Perls, "and they might push you to see a doctor before you recognize that you needto see one yourself."

11. Be Conscientious


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The strongest personality predictor of a long life is conscientiousnessthat is, being prudent, persistent, and wellorganized, according to The Longevity Project, coauthored by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin. The bookdescribes a study that followed 1,500 children for eight decades, collecting exhaustive details about their personalhistories, health, activities, beliefs, attitudes, and families. The children who were prudent and dependable lived thelongest, Friedman says, likely because conscientious types are more inclined to follow doctors' orders, take the rightmedicines at the right doses, and undergo routine checkups. They're also likelier to report happier marriages andmore satisfying work lives than their less conscientious peers.

Could This Popular Supplement Be Making

You Fat?

ByHealthy SELF, SELF Magazine

y Posts


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However, while our bodies do require some omega-6, Lassek says theexcessive amount in the average

American's diet has been shown to increase appetite and weight, and also promote inflammation in

your body tissues. "Our extraordinarily heavy dose of omega-6 is not good for us," he says, noting that

inflammation plays a critical role in coronary disease.

See more: How to Lose Two Pounds in One Week!

What is it about the modern diet that's leading you to eat too much omega-6? Like omega-3, omega-6

fats occur naturally in small amounts in plants and in the meat of animals that eat plants, whilenuts and

seeds tend to have more omega-3. "In the diet of our Stone Age ancestors, there was probably more

omega-3 than omega-6," says Lassek. "The problem for us today is that there is more than 20 times as

much omega-6 as omega-3 in the American diet."

The culprit? Industrially processed vegetable oils, like corn and soybean oils, which according to Lassek,

are added to most prepared foods.

Marjorie Nolan, RD, national spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, agrees that the

average American is consumingexcessive amounts of omega-6. "A problem arises when the balance of

omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is off," she says. "Omega-6 is easily found in the standard American diet,

while omega-3 is not."

According to Nolan, your body needs a ratio of 1:1 omega-6 to omega-3, yet she says the typical

American consumes at least 15 times as much omega-6 as omega-3.

Related: The Benefits of Being Part-Time Vegetarian

Yikes! So what should you beeating so you'regettingenough omega-3 and not consuming anexcess of

omega-6? According to Lassek, your best bets are wild-caught seafood (whichhas lower amounts of

mercury than farm-raised); eggs from chickens fed diets enriched in omega-3; and meat from grass-fed

animals (corn-fed supermarket meats arehigh in omega-6). Other good sources include flaxseed, canola

and walnut oils, as well as dairy products from grass-fed cows.

And step away -- far, far away -- from that package of chips, especially if you're trying to lose weight.

According to Lassek, who's a big fan of the Mediterranean-style diet, "Cutting way down on prepared

foods and increasing foods rich inhealthy and slimming omega-3 fats should help most women to

gradually return to morenatural weights."

More from SELF:

20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

Yoga Moves for Flat Abs


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38 Antiaging Foods

Gwyneth Paltrow's Arm and Ab Workout

The Social Security Spousal Benefit

ByJim Blankenship, CFP, EA | Forbes Wed, Nov 30, 2011

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One of the most confusing concepts in the Social Security retirement system is the SpousalBenefit. This option allows one spouse to file for benefits and the other spouse to receive abenefit based upon the first spouses retirement benefit. The greatest amount that the SpousalBenefit could be is 50% of the PIA (Primary Insurance Amount, generally equal to the retirementbenefit at Full Retirement Age, orFRA) of the spouse who has filed.

Lets work through a few examples to explain this. Lets say we have a couple named Dick and

Jane. Dick is 66 years old, and Jane is 62. Dick is eligible for a benefit at his current age of$2,400 per month, and Jane would be eligible for a benefit of $1,000 when she reaches FRA.

Example 1

If Jane files for her own benefit today, it will be reduced by 25% due to early filing, for a totalbenefit of $750. If she also files for the Spousal Benefit today (Dick will have to have filed toenable this), then herSpousal benefit would be equal to 50% of Dicks PIA minus 35% ($2,400


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times 32.5% equals $780) minus her own PIA of $1,000. In other words, filing for the SpousalBenefit now would mean that Jane will not receive a Spousal Benefit since the Spousal Benefit ather current age is less than her PIA ($780 vs. $1,000).

Example 2

Jane could delay until she reaches FRA before filing forSpousal Benefits, which would thengive her a Spousal Benefit of 50% of Dicks PIA ($2,400 times 50% equals $1,200) minus herPIA of $1,000, for a Spousal Benefit differential of $200 ($1,200 minus $1,000). Her totalbenefit would be the reduced amount of $750 plus the $200 differential.

Example 3

If Jane delays receiving her own retirement benefit until FRA, she would receive the full $1,000.At this point she could also file for Spousal Benefits, giving her an additional $200 (as calculatedabove) for a total benefit of $1,200, exactly half of Dicks PIA.

Keep this factor in mind: Jane can file for her own benefit early and delay the Spousal Benefituntil later (as long as shes not currently eligible for the Spousal Benefit in the month that shefiles for her own benefit, due to deemed filing); she cannot file for Spousal Benefits early (beforeFRA) and delay her own benefit.

Example 4

On the other hand, she could wait until she reaches FRA and then file solely for the SpousalBenefit, delaying her own benefit until age 70 if she wishes.

This is because once Jane reaches FRA she is no longer subject to the deemed filing rule. Thismeans that her Spousal Benefit would be calculated based upon 50% of Dicks PIA - but JanesPIA is not subtracted from it since she has not filed yet.

Example 5

Mixing this up a bit, if Jane and Dick were the same age, Jane could file for her own benefit atany age, and then at FRA Dick could file for a Spousal Benefit based upon 50% of Janes PIA -and just like in Example 4, his Spousal Benefit would not be reduced by his benefit since he hasnot filed yet.

Conclusion

The following rules apply:

y In order to beeligible for Spousal Benefits, your spouse must have filed for his or her own

benefit. He or she could suspend benefits ifhe or she is at least FRA.


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y If applying for your own benefit prior to FRA when youre also eligible for Spousal Benefits (that

is, your spousehas applied for his or her own benefit already), deemed filing requires that you

have applied for both the Spousal Benefit and your own benefit at the same time.

y The Spousal Benefit is always a differential between your ownPIA and your spouses PIA with a

factor applied (50% at thegreatest, 35% at the least, depending on your age).

y If you have already applied for your own benefits, the Spousal Benefit differential is added to

your own benefit to give you your total benefit. If your own benefit is reduced due to having

filed early, your total benefit will always be something less than 50% of your spouses PIA, even

if you wait until your own FRA to file for Spousal Benefits.

y If you havenot applied for your own benefits and youre at least FRA, deemed filing doesnt

apply and you can file solely for your Spousal Benefit, equal to 50% of your spouses PIA. This

allows you to earn delayed retirement credits on your own record up to age 70.

y Spousal Benefits are only available to one spouse at a time.

y Spousal Benefits arenot available if you have filed and suspended your own benefit.

Hopefully this review will help you as you work through the options of the Spousal Benefits foryou and your spouse. For more information on Spousal Benefits, you can check out my book - A

Social Security Owner's Manual.

http://www.socialsecurityownersmanual.com/

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