Healthy Aging

Small Steps to Healthy Habits

It can seem overwhelming to lose weight or get fit, but it doesn't have to be. How you approach behavior changes to help you reach your health and wellness goals can make a big difference. A key is to gradually change your habits.

Improving Fitness Could Prolong Life

Getting more physically fit may help reduce risk of dying prematurely. Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, followed 10,854 men and women (average age, 54) who had completed two doctor-ordered exercise stress tests at least 12 months apart.

Does Excessive Sitting Age You?

Too much sitting and too little exercise may speed biological aging by as much as 8 years, suggests an American Journal of Epidemiology study. A group of 1,481 women (average age, 79) from a nationally-representative sample wore motion sensors for one week.

Fighting Unwanted Weight Loss

Seeing you're down several pounds or finding your clothes are fitting looser may sound like a good thing - but not when you aren't trying to lose weight. Unwanted weight loss is of special concern in aging since it could point to an undiagnosed illness, leave you prone to infections or decrease your independence.

Could Low Iron Affect Your Hearing?

Hearing loss increases with age, affecting 40 to 66% of adults over age 65 and 80% of adults over age 85. Scientists are exploring whether iron deficiency contributes to the problem. Using clinical data from electronic medical records of 305,339 young to elderly adults, scientists examined the relationship between hearing loss and iron deficiency anemia.

Dietary Relief for Aching Joints

Whether your knees ache when you climb stairs or it hurts to bend down to tie your shoes, arthritis can be a real pain. There is no easy fix for osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis and the focus of this article. In this condition, cartilage (the covering on ends of bones) erodes, and the protective joint space between bones decreases. Pain, inflammation and reduced mobility can result. Arthritis is more common with age,…

Health Benefits of Whole Grains

Nutrition experts - including those advising this newsletter - have been preaching for years about the benefits of replacing refined grains in your diet with whole grains. The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans echoed this advice, recommending limiting intake of refined grains and products made with refined grains and starches.

Longevity Dietary Pattern: Fruits, Vegetables, Fish

What foods should you eat to live longer, especially if youre already 65 or older? Previous attempts to tackle that question have often been confounded by other lifestyle and even socio-economic factors that are difficult to untangle from the effects of diet.

Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables to Help Fight Frailty

Fruits and vegetables aren't just important for kids' health. New research combining data on nearly 3,000 people in three European studies reports that eating more fruits and vegetables can help older adults ward off frailty.

Heart Benefit Seen from Compound in Tea, Cocoa, Apples

A study of older Dutch men provides new insight into why tea and cocoa protect against heart disease, showing for the first time that a compound called epicatechin is associated with reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease.