Human longevity is not just affected by how well your genes are, but also how well you live your life. Researchers have found a way to eat, move and manage stress that determines how long people live.

A new study conducted on 20,000 people in the UK and has been published in the British Medical Journal, shows that one can reduce the risk of stroke by 50 percent. Just by doing four things, which is active for 30 minutes a day, eating fruits and vegetables, and avoiding excessive smoking and alcohol.

People can reach the age of 100 with a healthy lifestyle. However, Thomas Perls of Boston University School of Medicine, believes that with the assumption that puts genes aside, there’s nothing stopping you living up to the age of 90 years.

Here are 10 habits Perls used to calculate how long a person can survive, as reported by USNews, Tuesday (9/3/2010).

1. Do not retire.
Although already in the retirement age does not mean you can no longer work. “Evidence shows that in a society where people suddenly stopped working, the incidence of obesity and chronic disease increases after retirement,” says Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

2. Floss Teeth Every day
This can keep the arteries (blood vessels) remain healthy. Studies from New York University in 2008 showed that flossing every day can reduce the number of bacteria that cause gum disease in the mouth. These bacteria can enter the bloodstream and trigger inflammation in the arteries, and increases the risk of heart disease.

3. Always move
“Sports is the only way to stay young,” said Jay Olshansky, a professor of medicine and aging researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Study after study has recommended that the benefits of exercise to improve mood, mental acuity, balance, muscle mass, and bone. No need to exercise at the gym, just by simply walking around the neighborhood for 30 minutes a day.

4. Eat high-fiber cereal for breakfast
Whole wheat benefited especially in the morning can help maintain stable blood sugar levels throughout the day. According to a study conducted recently by Ferrucci and colleagues, people who do this can prevent  diabetes, which could accelerate aging.

5. Sleep at least 6 hours a day
“Sleeping is one of the most important functions for our bodies, our body regulates and heal cells when we are asleep,” Ferrucci said.

6. Consumption of whole foods, not supplements
Evidence strongly indicates that people who have blood that is rich in nutrients, like selenium, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, has a longer life. But there is nothing to prove that taking supplements can provide anti-aging benefits.

“There are more than 200 different carotenoids and the 200 different flavonoids contained in a tomato,” Ferrucci said. This chemical is beneficial to the body other than known nutrients such as lycopene or vitamin C. Avoid white foods (nutrient-lacking white food) such as bread, flour and sugar. And switch to fruits, vegetables, and whole wheat bread.

7. Reduce the neurotic (nerve pressure)
A better way to cope with stress is yoga, exercise, meditation, tai chi (take a deep breath in for a while). While in the other hand daydreaming, eating chips in front of the TV, partying and drinking to much alcoholic is bad for the body.

8. Live like Seventh Day Adventist
Americans who define themselves as the Seventh Day Adventists, have a life expectancy average of 89 years, about a decade longer than the average American.

They appreciate the body by not smoking, consume alcohol or pamper your body with sweet foods. They are usually vegetarian and eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, and do many sports. They are also very focused on families and communities.

9. Being a creature that used to it
According to Olshansky, people tend to live the old days with a strict routine, eating the same food and doing the same types of activities throughout their lives. Sleep and wake at the same time each day is one good habit to keep the body in a stable equilibrium.

10. Stay socially connected
Have social relationships with friends or loved ones is key to avoiding depression, which can lead to early death, particularly common to a widow and an elderly widower.

Some psychologists even think that one of the greatest benefits to be obtained from the parents exercise a strong social interaction, a walk with friends or join a training class.

The key to addressing excessive body sweating is to know what causes it. For people with secondary hyperhidrosis (or the sweating is caused by another medical condition), the solution is pretty straightforward: deal with the bigger illness and the sweating will subside.

However, the picture gets a little complicated for those born with excessive body sweating (or primary hyperhidrosis). While the condition will not go away immediately, there are ways to effectively manage and reduce it:

Iontophoresis is a series of treatments that involves low levels of electrical impulses to block the sweat glands with water minerals. The procedure is currently used to treat sweating localized at the head, feet, hands and armpits.

Specialized medications, like Oxybutynin have been found to reduce the amount of perspiration. Also available in the market are antiperspirants with higher doses of aluminium chloride and especially made for excessive sweating.

Botulinum Toxin Type A, or Botox injections work by disabling the sweat glands for as much as nine months. This procedure is a common alternative for those suffering from excessive sweating in the face.

Surgical solutions often involve removing some of the sweat glands. Another procedure, known as Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) entails cutting a nerve that triggers the sweating.

Many are concerned with the side effects and cost of using medicines and surgery to reduce the sweating. For them, alternative and natural solutions show results in a longer period of time but they are proven to be safer.

These solutions include controlled breathing, meditation and other yoga techniques to help calm the body and reduce sweating. Homeopathy, or the use of special herbs, have certain solutions either taken as teas or included in the bathwater. Others also find that eating a balanced diet free from coffee, colas, alcohol and spicy food help reduce sweating.

Excessive body sweating may often be physically harmless but it can hamper one’s social life. However, there’s more than one way to manage and even cut down the perspiration.

No matter what your age or conditions, stress is an inevitable part of everyone’s life and ongoing stress actually contributes to gaining weight. Elissa Epel, PhD and assistant professor in the psychiatry department at the University of California, states, “While the immediate…response to acute stress can be a temporary loss of appetite, more and more we are coming to recognize that for some people, chronic stress can be tied to an increase in appetite – and stress-induced weight gain.”

Short term stressful situations, like anxiety, excitement or fear, cause an adrenaline rush that temporarily burns fat. However, long term stress increases the level of the hormone cortisol in our bodies, causing the body to store excess fat. Most of this extra fat is stored in your belly and hips – exactly where you don’t want it.

Although several products claim to reduce cortisol, there is no medical evidence to substantiate those claims. A proven way to minimize cortisol levels in your body and eliminate excess fat is by reducing your stress. There are many additional benefits of stress reduction, such as lowered blood pressure and increased mental health.

Here are several simple ways to reduce stress for maximum physical and emotional fitness:

1. Eat at least 4-6 small, well-balanced meals each day to properly maintain the sugar levels in your body and ensure you are getting all the essential vitamins and minerals you need.

2. Drink at least six to eight glasses of water every day to flush the toxins out of your system.

3. Exercise for twenty to thirty minutes three to five times each week. Choose a physical activity you enjoy, such as biking, weight lifting or walking, because getting pleasure from your exercise routine will also help minimize stress.

4. Avoid foods with sugar and caffeine that offer a false sense of energy.

5. Avoid alcohol, which has an impact on the sugar levels in your body.

6. Get plenty of sleep every night because when you are tired, you tend to feel more hungry.

7. Engage in activities designed to help you relax, such as yoga or meditation.

8. Watch less television – statistics show that up to ninety percent of people who watch television an hour or more each day fail at their weight loss goals.

9. Avoid crash diets which could increase your stress level and actually cause the production of additional cortisol, alleviating any potential weight loss you may have been able to experience.

10. When you feel really hungry, choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods, like oatmeal and fruit, which keep insulin levels even to control blood sugar and your hunger.

By reducing the stress in your life, you can get rid of excess fat and emotional baggage at the same time!

There are a wide variety of possible problems that one can have with the digestive system. They may include a number of organs. Here we are discussing a basic sluggishness, weakness or inability to digest and / or assimilate our food nutrients. Symptoms might be bloating, flatulence, frequent burping, discomfort after eating, pain in the abdominal area. Ulcers and gastritis will require more specific instructions.

SOME POSSIBLE CAUSES

1. Hereditary weaknesses in the digestive organs. This does not mean that you are doomed to suffer. You can learn how to live wisely and not suffer at all from such a problem.
2. Poor dietary habits which have weakened our digestive system.
3. Nutritional deficiencies.
4. Blockages in the spinal nerves, which regulate the functioning of the digestive organs.
5. A lack of digestive enzymes and / or friendly bacteria in the intestines.
5. Emotional tension, which is affects these organs.

EFFECTIVE NATURAL SOLUTIONS

1. Eat properly and at regular times of the day, so that your digestive system can prepare itself.
a. Do not eat between meals.
b. Eat only when hungry.
c. Do not eat again until the previous meal has been digested.

2. Do not drink liquids with the meal. They dilute the digestive juices.

3. Follow the guidelines for proper food combining, especially concerning not eating sweet fruit with or after the meal.

4. If you have serious problems, then eat only one food at each meal for a period of time.

5. Do not eat food cold from the refrigerator.

6. Chew slowly making your food a liquid in your mouth before swallowing.

7. Garlic and lemon aid in the digestion of vegetables and proteins. (Watch out if you have an active ulcer).

8. Occasionally fast or eat only one food (apples, peas, watermelon, grapes, brown rice) for a few days. This will help your digestive system to rest and detoxify and revitalize itself.

9. Drink hot or warm water between meals (at least 3 hours after the meal and 15 minutes before).

10. Herb teas often help: mint, chamomile, anise, garlic.

11. Make sure that you have one or more bowel movements everyday.

12. Engage in some light activity after eating before lying down to rest.

13. Get plenty of daily exercise and take walks in nature if at all possible.

14. Never eat when emotionally upset. Do some breathing or relaxation first and then eat.

15. Learn to massage your own abdomen with shiatsu or “ambuko” massage. (Be sure that you do not have appendicitis)

16. Massage the soles of your feet where there are the reflex points for the various digestive organs. You can use a foot roller or round bottle to roll the bottom of your foot on in order to stimulate these points.

17. Spiritual Healing is especially beneficial. Place your hands on your abdominal area and send light, love and healing energy through your hands to your organs and yourself.

18. Harmonize your emotional life by changing beliefs and attitudes through reading, self-analysis, meditation, prayer and group work.

19. If your liver or gall bladder is sluggish you can use a castor oil pack to stimulate your liver, gall bladder, stomach and small intestines. (This method is described by Edgar Cayce in various books.)

20. Consult a yoga teacher for specific exercises, which relax, tonify and rejuvenate the organs of digestion, assimilation and excretion.

21. Do deep relaxation daily and contact the peace in the center of your being.

When we care for our bodyPsychology Articles, it serves us more joyfully.

Yoga is an ancient art and activity of nourishing and maintaining the physical, mental and spiritual balance of human being. Regular practicing of yoga can improve immune system, lower the cholesterol level, help an individual to relax and even improve the mental clarity. By practicing yoga one can easily connect with his own spiritual self. Daily yoga practicing means doing different yoga poses which are known as asanas regularly. These yoga poses or asanas involve all the body organs and muscles, thus improve the blood circulation in the whole body including some particular areas where normally blood does not flow. Each and every form of yoga is beneficial for human beings. Kundalini yoga helps to awake one’s own self-consciousness and unite it with the divine consciousness.

Yoga practice has both its physical and mental benefits as well as spiritual one. Practicing yoga strengthens the immune system, help the body to dump toxins and get more oxygen to all the body cells which give an energized and relaxed feeling after completing a yoga session. Yoga also ensures a better respiration which in turn can stimulate body’s lymph system. One can also improve red blood cell count in the body by doing different yoga poses. More red blood cells in the blood denote general improvement of health. Yoga music incorporated in yoga practicing promises the best possible result. Any kind of spiritual music be it meditation music or etc. leaves a soothing effect on the mind and thus increases the concentration level. Yoga also lubricates the body joints and in that way prevent arthritis and other such bone ailments. With regular practice of yoga one can keep his body joints, ligaments and tendons in proper shape and condition. Furthermore, yoga is very much helpful in burning the extra fat and reducing the cholesterol level in the body. It helps to keep body in perfect shape without taking help of any strict diet chart or slimming pills. Yoga also acts as anti-aging formula and many more countless aid to human kind.

Yoga is the art of maintaining a balance between mind, body and soul. Yoga gives a perpetual sense of calmness to the mind. Both yoga and meditation calm down the mind and free it from all tensions, worries and anxieties that come with our daily lives. Sometimes people become unconsciously stressed out. They lose their vision or aim in life. Practicing yoga or meditation bring back the concentration and clarity. By doing yoga poses or asanas, one can increase the mind’s sensitivity to body sensations. It is the ability to relax consciously when felling stressed out. And perhaps the most important contribution of yoga in human’s mind is that it changes the perception or the whole outlook to the life of an individual. It injects a feel good sense into human mind which in turn help to combat any tough phases. Meditation music enhances that feeling of completeness with its calming and soothing tunes. The tranquility of any yoga music transfers the mind of an individual to a higher realm of spirituality and helps it to connect with the divine spirit.