You may have heard the saying that age is just a number, and while that may be true physically for an exceptional few, it isn’t true if you are like the majority of men around the world. You may stay in shape, exercise frequently, and eat right most of the time, and still, you feel your body changing. In fact, as you near the age of 50, your body chemistry alters slightly, your muscle tolerance shifts, and bedroom experiences change, too. That doesn’t mean you need to work harder, but it does mean you should understand what to expect in your mental and physical health as you age. Here are some of the surprising changes men can expect after fifty.
As we grow old, it is important to stay active and healthy, but you should not just concentrate on enhancing the body. The mind is just like any other organ and needs stimulating to keep it working at its best. There are some simple things that you can do to keep yourself fit and healthy in body and mind.
Eat the Right Food
There is real evidence to suggest that eating healthily and having the right foods can help with your brain’s health. People who eat fish once a week, for example, have a 60% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is because fish has omega-3 fatty acids that help to slow brain degeneration.
If you are one of the 46 million baby boomers today in America, do you think you get enough exercise? Chances are that many of you don’t. While we may not wish to think about getting older, to help our golden years be as happy, long and healthy as possible, it’s never too late to make some life changes and prepare for what’s ahead.
Staying active helps to improve balance, makes us stronger and is good for our heart. It can also help older adults stay independent and prevent many health problems that come with age. Even for those seniors with limited mobility, there are still muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise that they can do.(more…)
Does a small streak of gray hair worry you? Are you afraid to smile because the wrinkle would show up on your face? If you’re worried about aging, then you aren’t alone. It’s one of the greatest fears that trouble most adults. Aging is a natural occurrence, but you can exercise control over it by following the right diet.
Here’s a list of food habits to help you have a healthy mind and body.
Reduce your wrinkles with argan oil
Argan oil is one of the most effective anti-aging essential oils. This “miracle oil” is obtained from the fruity pulp of the Moroccan Argan tree. It’s composed of 80% unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, antioxidants, carotenes, and phenols that helps in keeping your skin healthy and youthful.
Using argan oil as a face mask can reduce the early signs of aging. Take a few drops of argon oil and massage your face in an upward motion, starting from your chin. The depth and severity of wrinkles in your face will eventually reduce. You can also see your age spots fade away with the regular use of argan oil.(more…)
Maqui berry refers to a type of fruit, belonging to Elaeocarpaceae family, which is a native of Valdivian rainforests in Chile as well as adjacent areas of Argentina. Its botanical name is Aristotelia chilensis. The berries are small and purple-black in color and have a diameter of around 4-6 mm. Maqui is also known as Chilean wineberry, apart from several local names, such as maquei, koelon, queldrón, ach, and clon.
Macui is a dioecious tree, which is around 4-5 m tall, evergreen, and features smooth bark and a divided trunk. The branches are flexible, thin and abundant, whereas the leaves are pendulous, simple, opposite, glabrous, oval-lanceolate, coriaceous and have serrated edges, as well as red petioles. The flowers are white and small in size, yielding small edible fruits, which we know as Maqui berry.
With those boring details out of the way, let’s focus on the benefits of maqui berry so that you may learn how using maqui can increase your quality of life.
Acai Berry Not Just For Weight Loss — It Promises Longevity
Today’s guest post was written by Matt Papa, Ph.D. Having worked in biology labs for more than a decade, Matt devotes much of his time reading and researching the scientific literature pertaining to diets and natural weight loss programs. He blogs about research findings in obesity-treatment and gives away a Medifast discount coupon and a Nutrisystem coupon, two leading portion-controlled meal replacement diet plans.
About Acai Berries – Why Are They so Good for Your Health
Botanical-rich diets have been shown to have numerous health benefits, and acai is one botanical product that is garnering a great deal of attention. The acai berry, the fruit of a palm tree indigenous to the Amazon River area of South America, has been praised by experts for its health benefits.
The purple fruit is considered a superfood and is widely consumed as a dietary supplement because of the many therapeutic properties it is believed to possess. Marketed mostly as an effective supplement to induce weight loss, scientific studies are now recognizing other significant health benefits of the acai berry.
Berries, including the acai berry, receive their vibrant red, blue, and purple colors from a phytonutrient known as anthocyanin. In clinical trials, biochemical analysis, and animal and cell-based studies, anthocyanins have been shown to possess several important biomedical functions.
In addition to anti-inflammatory and anti-cardiovascular properties, anthocyanins have been demonstrated to decrease cancer cell growth by more than 50%. They also have significant potential as an anti-aging supplement, as they can reduce the oxidative stress associated with aging, improve neuronal and cognitive brain function, and repair and protect DNA – all of which are associated with aging, especially the accumulation of DNA damage or mutation.
Scientific Study Finds Acai Improves Longevity
The free radical theory addresses the issues of DNA mutation accumulation and oxidative stress mentioned above. This theory postulates that free radicals cause oxidative damage, which results in aging. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules responsible for cell damage, including oxidative harm to macromolecules like DNA. As organism ages, this oxidative stress accumulates in the cell. Based on this theory, treatments that reduce oxidative damage should be effective aging interventions. This has been supported through animal experiments that have shown reducing oxidative damage increases lifespan.
A study recently published in the January 2010 issue of Experimental Gerontology examined acai berry’s potential as an aging intervention. This groundbreaking animal study looked at the anti-aging effect of acai in Drosophila melanogaster, otherwise known as the fruit fly. Acai’s anti-aging effect was evaluated under two different conditions.
Condition 1. Flies fed a high fat diet. Condition 2. Flies pre-conditioned to experience extreme oxidative stress.
Acai Counteracts High Fat Diet’s Damaging Effect
Conjecturing that acai’s beneficial phytonutrients and its robust anti-oxidant activity would reverse the harmful effects of a diet high in fat, researchers manipulated the diet of fruit flies. All flies in the experiment were placed on a diet high in saturated fat; compared to a standard diet, one high in saturated fat is known to shorten lifespan by 19%. The flies were divided into two groups, one of which had their high-fat diet supplemented at 2% with acai pulp.
Compared to the flies who did not receive the acai supplement, those in the supplementation group saw a 22% increase in lifespan. In effect, supplementing with acai restored lifespan to a normal length, counteracting the damaging impact of a high fat diet. The researchers’ search for the mechanism responsible for this positive effect on longevity found that the acai diet resulted in increased activity of anti-aging genes.
In addition to a shortened lifespan, high fat diets are associated with a heightened risk for a variety of health problems. One common result of a chronic high fat diet is the development of insulin resistance, which eventually leads to type 2 diabetes. Dr. Sun, the study’s primary investigator, is hopeful “that acai pulp may be effective in prevention and control of type 2 diabetes,” as the findings seem to suggest. Acai pulp has demonstrated promise as a medicinal food that can inhibit a high fat diet’s detrimental health effects.
Acai Found To Reduce Oxidative Damage
The researchers also proposed that the survival of flies in oxidative stress would be improved by the administration of acai pulp. They tested this by using a model of oxidative stress commonly used in the biological study of aging. The model relies on fruit flies which, as a result of genetic modification, contain a dysfunctional Superoxide Dismutase enzyme (SOD). This enzyme is essential to the flies’ ability to reduce the cellular damage done by free radicals as well as to repair cells that do sustain damage. The genetically modified (SOD-mutated) flies live under constant oxidative stress because they do not have the ability to repair oxidative damage.
The SOD-mutated flies were placed in two groups. One group received 2% acai pulp for the duration of their adult life, while the control group received no supplementation. Comparison of the groups showed that flies who had received the acai supplement lived approximately 18% longer than those in the control group, suggesting that acai alleviates oxidative stress and thereby improves survival.
According to the researchers, the anti-aging properties demonstrated by acai may be due to its high level of polyphenolics, which give it the ability to function as a hunter of free radicals. Another polyphenolic compound shown to have similar anti-aging benefits is resveratrol. Supplementation with resveratrol increased longevity in mice fed a diet high in fat.
Final Remarks
This study, the first to examine the effects of acai’s anti-aging properties in an animal population, joins over 20 other peer-reviewed studies that refer to acai berry’s antioxidant properties and potential benefits to human health. In addition to these benefits, acai is currently being tested for its effectiveness as a weight-loss tool. Although research in this area is still ongoing, the inclusion of berries and other fruits is known to be an important component of any healthy weight loss diet.
Even though research on the weight loss effect of acai is not complete, anecdotal evidence and reports from real-life experiences suggest that it may help shed unwanted weight. The popular fruit is being recognized as a superfood with health benefits that include increased longevity, possible disease prevention, and the potential to aid in weight loss. Read Steve’s article where he clearly explains how the Acai berry speeds up weight loss.
Useful Literature
– Açai palm fruit (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp improves survival of flies on a high fat diet. Sun X, Seeberger J, Alberico T, Wang C, Wheeler CT, Schauss AG, Zou S. Exp Gerontol. 2010 Mar;45(3):243-51.
– What is the açaí berry and are there health benefits? Marcason W. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Nov;109(11):1968
