BUILDING HEALTH

  Diet and exercise along with advances in medical care and choices of lifestyle, will determine how to increase the life span.  A fourteen year review of more than 44,000 adults by researchers at the National Centres for Disease Control and Prevention showed that only two percent of people achieved all of the healthy habits like not smoking , staying physically fit, keeping blood pressure healthy, and cholesterol numbers in check, maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet.  A 76 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a decrease in death from all cancers when compared with those meeting only one of those health parameters.

   Happily, there is still time for everyone to experience the lifesaving effects of being healthy.  Adopting a good-for-you habit - even past your seventh decade - can add quality years to life.  If you are a diabetic, the sweet stuff we call sugar, as well as carbohydrates in general can raise triglyceride levels while lowering concentrations of healthy HDL cholesterol.  A person should consume at least two to four servings of fruit and three to five servings of vegetables each day.. This reduces the risk of many causes of premature death, such as cancer and diabetes.  The more colourful your selections, the better.  Red, orange, yellow, green, purple and white fruits and vegetables each contain different and important groups of phytonutrients, including antioxidants and other disease-fighting substances.

   Regarding the colour of bread to use, many people wrongly believe this is an indication of whole grains and think darker bread is healthier.  Instead, pay attention to the ingredients and not its hue.  Bread, pasta and  cereals should be "whole grains"  rather than refined.  The refining removes the bran and the important germ, the important parts for complete nourishment.

   The American Journal of Public Health, tells us that alcohol - a known carcinogen -accounts for up to 21,000 cancer deaths annually  (more than melanoma or ovarian cancer), resulting in approximately 18 years of life lost in each case.  Approximately 30 percent of those deaths occurred with a consumption of less than l.5 drinks per day.  Reducing alcohol consumption improves health in addition to reducing cancer risk, according to Consumer Reports on Health, volume 25 Number 6.  Drinking six to eight glasses of water or other healthy juices like some teas and coffee helps lubricate and cushion joints and protect tissue.

    Having fun and developing a social network helps preserve cognition.  If you are a loner keep the mind active by reading, writing, completing puzzles, making art and being kind to all will also help keep dementia at bay.    Most of us already know how important it is to be cautious about maintaining the proper weight, and taking care of any dental work needed.  Purposeful walking, bicycling, or swimming helps prevent the decline of muscular strength and adds years to your life as well as life to your years.  Condensed from Consumer Reports on Health.