Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) chooses a global health topic to highlight on World Health Day. This year on April 7, World Health Day focused on healthy aging. The WHO addressed the global economic and social impact of our aging population.

Young or old, you can promote lasting health by incorporating yoga and the Mediterranean diet into your lifestyle. In honor of World Health Day, here are two ways to live a longer, healthier life.

1. Yoga Meditation Helps You Live Longer

A study presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Heart Association reports transcendental meditation (TM) can lower the risk of heart attack and death by nearly 50 percent in African-American patients with heart disease. Transcendental meditation (TM) is a form of yoga meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s.

The researchers randomly assigned African-American patients with heart disease (a high risk group) either to a group including TM and high blood pressure prescription drugs or a group with high blood pressure prescription drugs only. TM was practiced for 15 to 20 minutes a day for 5 to 9 years.

The researchers found that the TM group experienced a 47 percent reduction in heart attack and death rates compared to the other group. The findings also revealed that the TM group had a significant reduction in blood pressure and psychological stress.

A 2005 study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, found that TM can lower death rates in patients with high blood pressure.

Researchers analyzed the data of 202 patients (aged 66 and older) with high blood pressure participating in published studies that included TM, behavioral stress-decreasing programs and conventional medications, over an 18-year period.

The researchers found that the TM group had a 23 percent decrease in overall death rates, as compared to the other groups. Furthermore, the TM group had a 30 percent decrease in death rate from heart disease and a 49 percent decrease in death rate from cancer.

2. Mediterranean Diet Increases Longevity

A 2011 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals the Mediterranean diet can increase a woman’s lifespan as much as 15 years and a man’s up to eight years. The Mediterranean diet is high in vegetables, fruits, olive oil, fish, and nuts and low in red meat and milk products. Experts believe the Mediterranean diet is one of the the healthiest in the world.

Researchers followed 120,852 men and women ages 55 to 69 for more than 10 years. Diet and lifestyle questionnaires were obtained from the participants.

The researchers found that those who ate a Mediterranean diet combined with exercise, no smoking, and healthy weight maintenance substantially lowered the risk of premature death.

A 2011 study, published in the journal AGE, shows the Mediterranean diet can increase lifespan in aging adults by about 20 percent.

Researchers analyzed data from the 40-year H70 Swedish study. The study compared 70-year-old adults who eat a Mediterranean diet with those who eat more meat and animal products.

“This means in practice that older people who eat a Mediterranean diet live an estimated 2 to 3 years longer than those who don’t,” says study author Gianluca Tognon, scientist at the University of Gothenburg, in a news release. “The conclusion we can draw from these studies is that there is no doubt that a Mediterranean diet is linked to better health, not only for the elderly but also for youngsters.”

A third study published in the British Medical Journal found certain foods in the Greek Mediterranean diet may increase longevity. The Greek Mediterranean diet includes olive oil as the principal fat, high quantities of vegetables, herbs and fruits, goat’s milk dairy products, legumes, oily fish, and a daily optional glass of wine.

Researchers followed 10,655 Greek men and women for more than eight years. Diet and lifestyle questionnaires were obtained from the participants.

They researchers found that a high intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and olive oil, moderate alcohol consumption (mainly wine during meals), and lower intake of meat were linked to increased longevity.

For more by Elaine Gavalas, click here.

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To learn more about yoga’s longevity benefits, download a free sample from Elaine Gavalas’ book, “The Yoga Minibook for Longevity.”

To learn more about the Greek Mediterranean diet and recipes, download a free sample from Elaine Gavalas’ book, “Secrets of Fat-Free Greek Cooking.”

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Elaine Gavalas is an exercise physiologist, yoga therapist, weight management specialist, nutritionist and healthy recipe developer.

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An organisation with 245 branches in this State alone is breaking boundaries around men’s health by helping men feel comfortable in an environment where old-fashioned mateship is alive and well.

The Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA) was developed in 2007 to encourage men to take on community projects and educational programs in the hope of indirectly combating the stigma surrounding men’s health.

Members speak about health issues, life, and personal concerns they might often keep to themselves.

AMSA media and communications officer Andrew Stark said the federal government allocated $3 million in funding to set up an AMSA base in 2010, and since then the number of Men’s Sheds nationwide has grown from 400, with 30,000 members, to 700 sheds with more that 110,000 members.

In NSW alone, as of February, there were 245 sheds – an increase of 105 from 2010.

Mr Stark said thanks to Men’s Sheds AMSA estimated 3000 suicides were avoided each year.

“As a result of being at the shed, they have moved on with their lives in a positive way,” he said.

“Allowing men to have a point of communication and community interaction is important.”

Mr Stark said when men retire they lose two-thirds of their social connections, which could contribute to depression.

“The sheds help men link up and make new friends.”

Mr Stark said the organisation was pushing for more funding to support its rapid growth.

State Minister for Mental Health Kevin Humphries said the NSW government recognised the positive effect Men’s Sheds had on health, and had worked with a number of established sheds to access one-off grant funding for the project.

Mr Humphries said feedback suggested being part of a Men’s Shed provided a sense of purpose through the opportunity to contribute to the community.

They also provided a helpful social network for a variety of life’s issues like relationship breakdown, loss of a job, and physical or mental illness.

Allen is allergic to maple trees, fescue grass, dust, ragweed and pollen. He said his allergies are particularly active from March though September.

“I used to break out when I was really young if I was around fescue,” he said.

Allergies are the result of the body’s immune system reacting against things that should be normal in the environment, said Dr. Diana Cavanah, an allergist at Graves-Gilbert Clinic. Symptoms can include headaches, watery and itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose, itching or pressure in the ears, itchy and sore throat and asthma symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness and coughing.

“There is a hereditary component,” she said. “If both parents have allergies, then over half the kids will have allergies.”

Cavanah said she has seen a lot of patients with seasonal allergies in the past couple of months.

“Our office is full. People have been worsening since the middle to end of February,” she said. “We estimate we’re between two and four weeks earlier than we typically are.”

The biggest problem now is tree pollen, Cavanah said.

“Usually we think of March, April or May with trees. The tree pollen started early, and we’ve got the grass pollens on top of that,” she said. “They usually start in April, May or June, but they started about the middle of March.”

Some people also have to worry about mold allergy, Cavanah said.

“We’ve got some of that going on right now,” she said. “Those come and go seasonally but some are there year-round. There’s also dust and dander.”

There are a number of good eye drops and allergy medicines – including Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec – that can be purchased without a prescription, Cavanah said.

“When those kind of things don’t help, there are a number of different nasal sprays,” she said. “There are steroid nasal sprays, such as Flonase and Nasonex, and antihistamine nasal sprays, such as Patanase and Astepro.”

There are also prescription medicines, such as Singulair and Accolate, and inhalers, Cavanah said. People can see a family doctor and, if they have symptoms year after year, an allergist.

“If that doesn’t take care of it or they are miserable a lot of the year, then we do allergy shots,” she said. “You can build up immunity and make you less likely to have these seasonal symptoms.”

Treatment for children is a little different, Cavanah said.

“We would use the same types of medicines, but liquids rather than tablets,” she said. “We don’t use as many of the decongestants in children as we do in adults.”

Allen said his allergies have “gotten to be somewhat under control.” He takes Flonase and prescription Allegra.

“I will still have them if I don’t take my medicine – itchy eyes, sneezing, a little bit of congestion,” he said. “I’m taking medicine daily. If I don’t take the medicines every day I’ll get the headaches.”

After taking shots for eight years, his body adjusted to many of the allergens, Allen said.

“I couldn’t have gotten through it without the shots,” he said. “I’ve been off the shots for four years.”

Allen doesn’t let allergies take over his life – even if he doesn’t get to go outside regularly.

“I’m indoors because I work all the time,” he said, laughing. “I don’t change what I do because of it.”

On The Web

Helpful websites for those with seasonal allergies:

•National Allergy Forecast and Information About Allergies: pollen.com.

•American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology: aaaai.org.

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Information from: KTVZ-TV
 

And his message seems to be getting through to an increasing number of Barbadians.

The proof of this can be seen every evening as the compound of the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium is transformed into a multi-exercise and fitness facility.

Men, women, and children of various ages and nationalities usually descend on the grounds of the Gymnasium from as early as 4 p.m. to engage in a variety of fitness and sporting activities.

Many can be seen walking, running, bicycling, roller-skating and playing sports such as tennis and netball, while others take the opportunity to do strength training activities on benches and power lifts, located around the large compound.

Teams associated with clubs and schools also seize the opportunity to “work out” at the Gymnasium.

While management at the facility declined to talk about the fitness craze in evidence at the Gymnasium, a source told the WEEKEND NATION that the numbers flocking there on evenings to participate in activities had been increasing daily.

“They like the fact that the compound is huge and safe and they seem to enjoy the ambience. It has become the place to be for fitness enthusiasts – plus it’s free,” the source said.

He estimated that close to 200 people visited the area every evening and spent two to four hours.

“Sometimes there are people still exercising here at 8 p.m.,” he said.

He stated that it was refreshing to see families and friends socializing at the compound and engaging in healthy activities.

“Parents bring their children along and teach them how to ride and skate. There is not a spot around these grounds which does not have some form of activity on evenings,” he said.

Sodas, candy bars and sweet breakfast cereals are entwined in modern life — along with a lot of other questionable choices and bad habits. It’s hard to know exactly what all of that sugar is doing to our bodies, but scientists are making headway. Some not-so-sweet findings:

• In an unusual — and revealing — experiment from 2011, researchers at UC Davis fed 48 young adults a sugary but carefully controlled diet. In just two weeks, subjects who got 25% of their calories from either fructose or high-fructose corn syrup saw a jump in their cholesterol levels. A similar study from 2008 found that sugary drinks decreased insulin sensitivity and increased visceral fat in overweight subjects.

• Also

• 

  Sounding the sugar alarms

• 

  The many names of sugar and where it hides out

A study that followed more than 42,000 men for 22 years, published in March, found a correlation between sugary drink consumption and heart attacks — men who drank a single 12-ounce sugary soda every day were about 20% more likely to have a heart attack during the study period. It’s not clear if the extra sugar was directly to blame, though, since people who drink sodas may do other things that put them at risk.

A 2011 study of nearly 2,700 people found a correlation between sugary beverages and blood pressure. Specifically, a daily 12-ounce serving seemed to raise blood pressure by one or two points.

A 2010 Spanish study of 74 healthy adult men found that consuming 200 grams of fructose a day for two weeks was enough to temporarily raise blood levels of insulin and triglycerides and elevate blood pressure.

The Nurse’s Health Study II — which tracked more than 91,000 women for eight years — found that women who drank a sugary soft drink every day were 80% more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than women who hardly ever had a sugary drink. The 2004 report also found that women who started drinking more soft drinks during the study tended to put on the most weight.

An eight-year government study of more than 6,100 adults found that added sugar seemed to raise the risk of cholesterol trouble. Notably, the 2010 report found that people with the sweetest diets were 11/2 to 3 times more likely than people who ate relatively little sugar to have low levels of good HDL cholesterol.

Chris Woolston

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Men’s Health — IT’S A WARM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA morning, and I’m meeting Zac Efron in Studio City at a place called Weddington Golf Tennis. With a name that stuffy, I expect marble and money. The course turns out to be public, with a plastic-cup snack bar where a waitress, without looking up, informs the 24-year-old movie star that she doesn’t take credit cards. They’ve reserved us a private tee, which is approximately 4 feet away from the adjacent public one.

Here at the practice range, Efron—in T-shirt, oversized cap, shorts, and Vans—strolls around in disarming anonymity, though to be fair, it’s hard for even the preeminent teen pinup of the 2000s to attract notice in a crowd that includes this many codgers in lavender pants. After talking and meandering (not especially well) through a bucket of golfballs, we encounter Roger Dunn, a California golf-shop magnate who gives lessons wearing a Panama hat and smoky sunglasses. We’d heard that Dunn is just shy of his 50th year of teaching, and he’s been introduced to us as a man of considerable local repute. Mostly Dunn has something to teach, and Efron is drawn to that.

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Read the full article at Men’s Health.

Filed under: Interviews, Men’s Health Tagged: features, fitness, health, interviews, men’s health, zac efron

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