Of course there is no fountain of youth in the literal sense,
but is it possible to use science to add more vitality, longevity and
even enthusiasm to our lives? In our search for an
answer, we objectively compared dozens of books and
sites concerning the subject of optimal health. Knowing
that we could devote only one tipsheet of seven to this subject, we looked
for a site that could deliver the best and fullest advice in the
shortest possible time.
The closest that modern science has come to a modern-day
"fountain of youth" may very well be the RealAge.com health-planning site. It was
founded by doctors Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen, an often-featured speaker on
public television who has written several bestsellers about
health including YOU: The Owner's Manual.
RealAge.com asks you a few questions to find out about your
particular health situation, then gives you a step-by-step
health plan that actually can help you feel better and live longer
if you choose to heed its well-researched advice. Here's what the
experts have been saying about it:
| |
"Great solutions, simple solutions, something everybody can do."
-- CNN News
|
|
"Doctors deliver only about half of the recommended treatment and
preventive care called for in clinical practice guidelines...
RealAge.com provides tailored reports on how to look and feel
better, and information such as avoiding disease, the effects of
aging, and medical errors." -- Consumer Reports
|
|
"It will absolutely, positively change how you look at your
health... It will be one of the best investments of your time you
will ever make." -- Real Solutions Magazine
|
|
It's so well worth your time! It could even greatly
increase your available time by lengthening your life, reducing
fatigue and helping you live even more energetically and
productively. Here's a list of the top dozen tips from doctors Oz and Roizen,
along with how many years the average person will gain by
adopting them. No one is claiming the numbers are exact,
but they do fit the findings of scientific medical studies fairly
well.
The best tips are often the most common-sense
ones:
Good Health & Safety Habits
|
| 1. Wear Your Seatbelt. |
Gain up to 3.4 years.
Wear your seat belt and drive defensively to safeguard against
crippling injury or even death, reducing your age by up to 3.4 years.
|
| 2. Monitor Your Health. |
Gain up to 12 years.
People who proactively seek high-quality medical care and
attentively manage their health conditions can live up to 12
years longer than those who do not.
|
| 3. Know Your Blood Pressure. |
Gain up to 25 years!
Low blood pressure (~115/75 mm Hg) can reduce your age by as much as 25
years, when compared to people with blood pressure higher than
160/90 mm Hg.
|
|
Back to the original question: is there a modern-day Fountain
of Youth? The answer is the same as it's always
been: "you're as young as you feel!" The more
you keep a good attitude and do what you love, the better you'll
feel and the longer you'll live.
Four Very
Healthy Attitudes
|
| 1. Become a Lifelong Learner. |
Gain up to 2.5 years.
People who maintain a healthy intellectual curiosity throughout
their lives can improve their RealAge by up to 2.5 years.
|
| 2. Be Active. |
Gain about 5 years.
Even minor exercise -- two 20-minute walks per day -- can make
you nearly 5 years more youthful.
|
| 3. Laugh a Lot. |
Gain up to 8 years.
Laughter reduces stress, strengthens your immune system, and can
make improve your effective RealAge by up to 8 years.
|
| 4. Reduce Stress. |
Gain up to 32 years!
High stress makes you vulnerable to heart attacks and strokes,
effectively making you as much as 32 years older than your
calendar age. All you need is a strong social support
network coupled with the stress-reduction strategies revealed by
Dr. Roizen.
|
|
Dr. Roizen's number one tip is to take the free RealAge
Test. By taking the RealAge Test, over your lifetime
your RealAge could be helped by up to 26 years. "That
means that you will live younger every day, and live longer with
as much health and energy as possible" says Dr. Roizen.
Just go to RealAge.com and click
the "RealAge Test" button on their home page.
They'll ask you to register with your email address and password
(which they will keep private.) It takes about 10 minutes
to answer their health quiz and you'll receive the results in
your inbox in about an hour.
There's so much to explore at Dr. Roizen's excellent site, so
we'll sign off for today. You'll receive parts II through
VII of this special report "The World's Best Consumer
Tips", spaced two days apart. To ensure that you receive
the next six tips from us, add the email address in the "From:" field
to your address book. In Part II we'll talk about how
conserving energy can help you save a surprising amount of
money!
| |
|
|
| |
 Thought for the Day:
"There is no need for temples; no need for complicated
philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the
philosophy is kindness."
~ Dalai Lama (1950 - ), Tibetan spiritual leader
| |
|
|
|
| | | |
To-Do List:
1. Visit RealAge to create your own personal health plan
2. Gradually work its tips into your schedule over the coming month
3. Feel great!
|
| |
Welcome To This Special Report
Hello! We at the CFA truly believe that
this Special Consumer Report will vastly improve your outlook for
2007 and many years to come. Some tips for better reading
enjoyment:
| •
| If this email somehow reached you in error (or
perhaps a friend forwarded it to you?), just click the
"unsubscribe" link at bottom.
| | • |
Some email programs don't display graphics properly. You should see
an animated smiley here: 
If you see no graphics, you can either (a) unblock graphics by
clicking the appropriate button or link in your email program; or (b)
visit http://www.smartconsumertips.com/ web1tips.htm to read this email.
| | •
| If this text appears to be too large or too small,
you can easily resize it. In Internet Explorer,
click View on the menu bar, then click
Text Size. FireFox users can just hold
down the Ctrl key while pressing the "+" or "-" key.
| | •
|
You can see a list of all tipsheets and request a copy of
any of them at our Tipsheet Request center.
| | •
|
You can send us your comments or questions anytime by
visiting our contact page.
|
|
Watch Your
Mouth!
What you put into your system has a big effect on your
health, often in ways you wouldn't think would matter so much:
|
| 1. Fill Up on Fiber. |
Gain about 2.5 years.
Dr. Roizen states that eating 25 grams of fiber per day improves your RealAge
by up to 2.5 years, when compared to those who get only 12 grams
of fiber per day (men may need even more than 25 grams).
|
| 2. Take Your Vitamins. |
Gain about 6 years.
Dr. Roizen recommends that you regularly take a multivitamin
containing vitamin C (1200 mg/day), vitamin E (400 IU/day),
calcium (1000-1200 mg/day), vitamin D (400-600 IU/day), folate
(400 mcg/day), and vitamin B6 (6 mg/day).
|
| 3. Floss Your Teeth. |
Gain about 6.4 years.
Flossing and brushing every day helps your oral health. Bad
oral health is a frequent pathway for germs and viruses to attack
you in other parts of your body.
|
| 4. Quit Smoking and Avoid Passive Smoke. |
Gain about 8 years.
Quit smoking to gain about 8 years. Avoid second-hand
smoke as well.
|
|
More To
Explore
|
Here are some of the most helpful health pages you'll find anywhere:
|
|
Consumer Reports maintains several excellent sites:
|
| • |
Consumer Reports Medical Guide has
unbiased reviews, has doctor-reviewed medical guidance to
help you with various health conditions, and can send you health
alerts on various topics. Their shopping agent CR Best Buy Drugs can help you buy at a rock-bottom price.
|
|
|
Note: It would be impossible to list the hundreds of
sources we researched for this Special Report, so in each
tipsheet we'll just list a few of the better sources for those
who are curious. |
Sources:
1. Editor's Letter, Stephen Adele, Real Solutions Magazine editorial.
2. Health Subscription Web sites, Consumer Reports article.
3. Doctors Mehmet Oz, Michael Roizen Give Tips On Living Healthy, Long Life, Interview with Joe Pastone, CNN Live Sunday.
4. Top 12 Ways To Make Your RealAge Younger, Realage.com article.
5. YOU: The Owner's Manual, book by Michael F. Roizen & Mehmet Oz, Harper Collins, 2006.
6. RealAge Test Resources and References, Realage.com listing.
the Fountain of Youth is for anyone...
...if they'll just stay young at heart! |
|
