General Health Topic - Four Healthy Changes Can Prolong Life 14 Years

Hello Everyone,

I don't know if you have read this article that was published by a group of British researches in the Journal PLoS Medicine.

I have included the article that was written by Michael Kahn from Reuters and can be found at the following link:

http://body.aol.com/news/health/article/_a/four-healthy-changes-can-prolong-life-14/20080108121809990001

Four Healthy Changes Can Prolong Life 14 Years
By MICHAEL KAHN, Reuters
Posted: 2008-01-10 11:36:29
Filed Under: Health, Healthy Living, Diet & Fitness

LONDON - People who drink moderately, exercise, quit smoking and eat five servings of fruit and vegetables each day live on average 14 years longer than people who adopt none of these behaviors, researchers said.

Overwhelming evidence has shown that these things contribute to healthier and longer lives, but the new study actually quantified their combined impact, the British team 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 behavior change," the researchers wrote in the journal PLoS Medicine.

Between 1993 and 1997 the researchers questioned 20,000 healthy British men and women about their lifestyles. They also tested every participant's blood to measure vitamin C intake, an indicator of how much fruit and vegetables people ate.

Then they assigned the participants -- aged 45-79 -- a score of between 0 and 4, giving one point for each of the healthy behaviors.

After allowing for age and other factors that could affect the likelihood of dying, the researchers determined people with a score of 0 were four times as likely to have died, particularly from cardiovascular disease.

The researchers, who tracked deaths among the participants until 2006, also said a person with a health score of 0 had the same risk of dying as someone with a health score of 4 who was 14 years older.

The lifestyle change with the biggest benefit was giving up smoking, which led to an 80 percent improvement in health, the study found. This was followed by eating fruits and vegetables.

Moderate drinking and keeping active brought the same benefits, Kay-Tee Khaw and colleagues at the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council said.

"Armed with this information, public-health officials should now be in a better position to encourage behavior changes likely to improve the health of middle-aged and older people," the researchers wrote.

The article also contained the following tips:

Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. A body mass index (BMI) between 21 and 23 is the ideal recommendation.

Be physically active daily for at least 30 minutes.

Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar and fat, or low in fiber).

Eat more variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans. Earlier this year, the CDC reported that Americans are not consuming enough vegetables and fruit in their diet.

Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats. Processed meat -- such as bacon -- consumed per day increases the risk of colorectal cancer.

If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women a day. Alcohol is linked to an increased risk of throat, breast and liver cancers.

Limit consumption of salty foods and food processed with salt/sodium.

Don't use supplements to protect against cancer, opt for a balanced diet.

Researchers also suggest against smoking or chewing tobacco in any form because of the increased risk of cancer and other serious diseases.

Hope this information helps,

Dr. Paul