Secrets of Healthy Aging

Who doesn't want to live to a full long life? People who lived gracefully to a ripe old age and still hale and hearty always makes me pause and wonder what could be their longevity and health secrets.
Best-selling author David Niven, PhD, reveals simple secrets of healthy people in his very absorbing book "The 100 Simple Secrets of healthy People." Here's some of his findings backed up by tons of medical research while junking myths and misinformation :
* Easy does it with vitamins.
The author quotes Dr. Beverly McCabe-Sellers, professor of dietetics and nutrition at the University of Arkansas medical Sciences School : "Taking too much of an essential vitamin or mineral may be as dangerous as going without the nutrient at all." Sellers warns the consumers to heed the warning against "megadosing" on vitamin supplements.
* Stop the war on bacteria.
While it is true that cleanliness is next to godliness, it is also possible that too much cleanliness can be bad for us, according to geneticist Stuart Levy from Turfs University. "All that scrubbing and sponging with new antibacterial soaps and detergents may be weakening our immune systems," warns Levy. "It is killing helpful germs and spurring the growth of mutant strains of super bacteria."
* Exercise, you're never too old to improve your health.
A Case Western University research found that increasing the frequency of exercise among those over 72 years old improved their overall health and was associated with a better outlook in life and a 20-percent longer lifespan.
* A tomato a day is even better than an apple a day in keeping the doctor at bay.
Five servings of tomatoes a week in any form - raw, canned, cooked, in soups as sauce or ketchup or us juice - provide enough lycopene to cut the risk of cancer and heart disease in half, and to improve the health of the lungs, eyes, and the skin, according to scientists at Ohio State University.
* Breathe right.
Breathing slowly and deeply from the abdomen triggers a blood flow to the brain and up to a 65-percent reduction in stress, according to researchers at Harvard University.

Study Shows Eating Carrots A Day May Lower Risk Of Heart Disease

A study reported an interesting connection between eating carrots and the risk of stroke. Researchers reviewed the diets of 87,000 nurses eating five or more servings of carrots a week than in those eating one or less a month. Results of this 1993 study showed 68 percent lower risk of stroke in nurses eating carrots than in those eating less. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene.

In another research, called the Physician’s Health Study, researchers monitored a group of 333 doctors with angina pectoris and coronary revascularization. Subjects who were given beta-carotene supplementation at 50 mg on alternate days were shown to produce a remarkable 4 percent drop in all major coronary events and a 9 percent fall in cardiovascular problems, including stroke and death.. The results also suggest that beta-carotene may protect against heart attacks by protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids from oxidation, researchers analyzed.