December 5, 2008 at 1:01 am / Filed under Nutrition
If you caught Oprah last week than you may have heard of the secret of the blue zones. National Geographic’s freelance writer Dan Buettner recently wrote a book on this topic and he was on her show to explain this phenomenon. The blue zones are areas around the world where the average life expectancy is greater than other places. In fact, it is common for people in these areas to live an active life beyond the age of 100. He went to four of these locations and interviewed some of the people that live there to see what they do differently.
The biggest thing they had in common is that they all live active lifestyles, including a 103 year old woman who still lifts weights and a 94 year old heart surgeon! Another thing they all did was eat a plant based diet, rich in legumes. You heard that right, vegetables - my favorite! The only blue zone in the United States, located in Loma Linda, CA, the majority of the residents are vegan (meaning no animal products in their diet, not even milk or eggs). Shocking, you say? Not really, the more research that is done, the more we hear about eating a meat-free diet and all of its many benefits…including living past 100!
December 5, 2008 at 12:36 am / Filed under Fitness, Lifestyle, Uncategorized
Before you skip this posting, you may want to see this statistic I recently came across. People aged 50 and over will have a 55% chance of getting osteoporosis. That means that either you or your partner will get it, statistically speaking of course. I don’t know about you but I am completely shocked at how common this is. And hey, 50 is an age all of us would like to reach (unless you are already there, in which case this article is even more important for you). Even if you are under 50, beware because it can strike at any age.
So what can we do about this so that we don’t become another statistic? Lift weights, of course! It is scientifically known that weight bearing and muscle strengthening exercise strengthens bones and lack of exercise causes them to become weak and brittle, resulting in bone fractures. Keep in mind that a hip fracture may not seem like the end of the world but approximately 1 of every 4 will die in the year following their fracture (over age 50). Another interesting statistic is that a person loses a year of bone mass in only 1 week of bed confinement! The good news is that bones regenerate just about as quickly.
So if you needed one more reason to hit the gym or your favorite personal training studio, here it is - you can prevent osteoporosis from happening to you.
