Healthy Aging

H eres more motivation to get going on a program of regular physical activity: A new National Cancer Institute re- view of 14 prior studies reports that women who regularly exercise reduced their risk of endometrial cancer by about 30%. On the other hand, women who spend more of their day sitting were at greater risk of the can- cer, which affects the lining of the uterus.

Inside Tufts HNRCA Laboratory of Nutrition, Exercise, Physiology and Sarcopenia-on the front lines of the fight against frailty. At 711 Washington Street, in the heart of downtown Boston, you will find the worlds largest research center on nutrition and aging. With over 300 scientists, the Tufts Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) has been advancing the knowledge of human nutrition since 1979

A new National Institutes of Health-funded study holds out the first glimmer of hope that high doses of omega-3 fatty acid supplements might counter the degenerative muscle loss that leads to frailty in the elderly

Want to protect your eyes against the leading cause of blindness in older Americans? Eat more fish high in omega-3s. Thats the conclusion of a new study of 38,022 participants in the Womens Health Study, linking regular consumption of fish and the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish (DHA and EPA) to reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Tufts new MyPlate for Older Adults helps you plan your plate-and your life. Last year, the federal government retired its longstanding food pyramid, replacing the familiar icon with a new dietary-guidance symbol

Whole-body vibration (WBV) to combat osteoporosis has been popularized lately

Heres more evidence that eating right is good for your brain-and that a diet low in key nutrients and high in unhealthy fats may actually contribute to cognitive decline with aging. Researchers report that older adults with higher blood levels of the B vitamins, vitamins C, D and E and omega-3s scored better on tests of mental performance and showed healthier brains in MRI scans. But older adults with high levels of trans fats, a sign of an unhealthy diet, scored worse on cognitive tests and had lower brain volume.

Study links a healthy diet to longevity among participants averaging 73.5 years old.If you think youre too old to bother eating right, a new analysis of nationwide nutrition

Getting older doesnt have to mean sleeping poorly. Researchers who analyzed a survey of 155,877 Americans report that people

Suffer from insomnia? Heres an eyeopening finding: The real problem