Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Healthy Lifestyle May Provide Extra 14 years of Life
Those who practice just four healthy habits/behaviors may live 14 years longer than those who don't, according to a report from Cambridge University.
More than 20,000 participants between the ages of 45 and 79 years were followed for an average of 11 years. Questionnaires awarded one point for not smoking, being physically active, consuming alcohol in moderation, and having a plasma vitamin C level consistent with eating five servings of vegetables or fruit per day.
Those who scored no points on the questionnaires were four times more likely to die than those who scored four points, and those with a score of two were twice as likely to die. Participants whose score was zero had the same risk of dying as subjects who were 14 years older who had practiced all four healthy behaviors.
The researchers said: “These results may provide further support for the idea that even small differences in lifestyle may make a big difference to health in the population and encourage behaviour change.”
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Study: Americans Drinking Less Alcohol
"Americans may be drinking less alcohol, on average, than in the past -- and they're cutting back on beer and sipping more wine as they get older."
So says a story from CBS News, courtesy of WebMD. It's based on a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine.
That finding comes from 50 years of drinking data reported by 8,600 white adults in Framingham, Mass., the home of a long-term health study.
Participants, born from 1900 to 1959, joined the study when they were at least 28 years old. Over the decades, they repeatedly answered questions about their lifestyle and health, including their alcohol use.
Men and women in each generation drank less as they got older. And each generation drank less than previous generations, with heavier drinking giving way to moderate drinking.
If you're worried about your own alcohol consumption, err on the side of caution. You can even take this quiz from AlcoholScreening.org: How much is too much?
Here's a story, A drink a day, from Health writer Susan Brink explaining the health benefits of alcohol.