✓ Extra-virgin olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil contains healthy phytonutrients and monounsaturated fats, which boost good HDL cholesterol. The docs recommend that about 25 percent of your diet come from healthy fats (for example, olive oil, avocados, and nuts).
✓ Fish: Fatty fish, such as mahi-mahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia, whitefish, and wild, line-caught salmon, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that reduce triglycerides in your blood. High triglycerides can cause plaque buildup in your arteries. Omega-3s also help reduce the risk of arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) after a heart attack, decrease blood pressure, and make platelets less sticky, which reduces clotting. The docs recommend three portions of fatty fish per week.
✓ Fruits and veggies: Many fruits and vegetables – for example, red grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, and onions – contain powerful antioxidants called flavonoids and carotenoids.
✓ Garlic: A clove a day is believed to be beneficial to help thin your blood and lower blood pressure. You can take 400 milligrams in pill form (called allicin) if you don’t care for the taste of garlic or its affects on your breath.
✓ Magnesium-rich foods: Whole-grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocado, beets, and raisins help lower blood pressure and reduce arrhythmias by expanding the arteries. Strive to get 400 milligrams of magnesium each day from your food.
Exercise (and sweat)!
Exercise makes you feel (and look) better. To keep your heart healthy, try to walk about 30 minutes daily and get at least one hour of sweaty activity, such as an aerobics class (ideally you’d break that hour into three 20-minute sessions).You should get your heart pumping up to about 80 percent of its age-adjusted maximum (220 minus your age) for extended periods of time, according to the docs.
Exercise also has other benefits. As you age, your sense of (and ability to) balance slowly declines. Falls are one of the leading causes of injury and death among the elderly. More than one in three adults age 65 and older fall each year in the United States. Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. They’re also the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and traumatic hospital admissions.
Naturally, many people who fall develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them to limit their activities, leading to reduced mobility and physical fitness and increased risk of falling.
To improve your balance and develop some strength, try the following activities:
✓ Crunches: Performing crunches on an unstable surface, such as on a stability ball, forces your body to balance.
✓ Light weight lifting: Use dumbbells instead of weight machines, because dumbbells force you to balance the weights better.
✓ Standing exercises on one leg at a time: Doing these exercises helps you develop better balance.
✓ Step-type moves: Activities such as lunges or step-up moves require you to balance your weight.
Hydrate with good-quality H 2 O
You want to drink plenty of water to realize a variety of health benefits, especially for your digestion and intestines. Drinking water, preferably filtered, lubricates everything, allowing food to more easily slide through your system. It also quells hunger and fights bad breath. Furthermore, you need to regularly drink water as you age because your body’s ability to detect thirst weakens as you get older.
Eric’s website (www.erictyson.com) has a summary of research on bottled water quality and demonstrates how most bottled waters are a waste of money. Your most effective and healthy avenue is to install a water filtration system at home to improve the virtually free tap water you’re already receiving.
Include fiber in your diet
If you’re eating healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oats, and beans, you’ll also be eating valuable fiber. (Some cereals have a decent amount of fiber as well.) The combination of fiber and water helps move food easily through your system without putting too much pressure on your intestines. Doctors recommend that men get 35 grams a day and women 25 grams.
Manage your stress
Stress does horrible things to your body. You can’t eliminate all stress, of course (and, besides, doing so would make life dull). However, you can do plenty to minimize it and turn it to your advantage. You can make the following health-conscious choices to keep stress under control:
✓ Identify the sources of your stress. You can’t manage stress if you’re not clear on the real sources.
✓ Focus on the moment. Spend time every day thinking about the here and now and not brooding over yesterday or worrying about tomorrow. Also, notice the things that most people tend to ignore – like breathing, bodily sensations, and emotions.
✓ Take good care of your health. Make sure you have the other aspects of your life in order, such as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising. When you don’t, you’re more vulnerable to the stress.
✓ Get moving. Exercise is one of the best stress (and depression) busters ever invented. See the earlier section “Exercise (and sweat)!” for more information.
✓ Do the opposite. Whenever people feel negative emotions, such as fear or anxiety, they tend to avoid them and withdraw. If you try experiencing the opposite emotions, you can start to feel better. So, for example, if you’re upset with someone, try to be empathetic instead of lashing out.
✓ Focus on and relax your muscles. Tense and then relax the muscles in one part of your body (such as your legs, your arms, your face, and so on) at a time. Doing so reduces stress that you’re storing in your body.
✓ Take some deep breaths. Take ten deep breaths in the morning and another ten at night – and as many as needed in between for stress relief. Find a position that helps you relax. For example, lie on the floor, flat on your back, with one hand on your chest, and another on your stomach. Breathe in deeply and
